Gay candidate Hightower leads in fundraising in District 5 race for Arlington City Council

Last week, Realtor and openly gay Arlington City Council District 5 candidate Chris Hightower told me he expected campaign finance reports to show he is way ahead of the field when it comes to fundraising. Well, the “30th day out from election” reports were filed Thursday, and as it turns out, Hightower was right on the money: Not only did he raise more than any other candidate in the District 5 race, he raised more than the other four candidates combined.

Hightower, who raised $33,246 in the period between Jan. 1 and April 4, also raised more than any single candidate in any race in the May 14 Arlington municipal election. Incumbent Mayor Robert N. “Bob” Cluck, running for re-election against Carl Scrivner, came to the closest to Hightower in fundraising, with a total of $24,400. District 4 incumbent Councilwoman Kathryn Wilemon was next with $15,005, and District 3 incumbent and Mayor Pro Tem Robert Rivera has raised $12,418.

In the race for District 5, incumbent Councilwoman Lana Wolff reported raising $3,695. Terry Meza has raised $1,721.15, and Julie M. Douglas has raised $1,100. The fifth candidate, Christopher McCain, had not filed a campaign finance report as of Monday morning — or at least no campaign finance report for him had been posted on the Arlington City Secretary’s elections website by that time.

Hightower has also outspent all the other candidates in the municipal elections, listing total campaign expenditures of $19,193. In the District 5 race, Wolff has spent only $260, while Meza has spent $368, and Douglas has spent only $150. The only other candidate in this election to come close to Hightower so far in terms of campaign spending is Rivera in District 3, who has spent $9,578 in his bid to keep his seat.